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The Amanda Knox verdict is in and she has been found not guilty of the murder of her roommate Meredith Kercher in 2007. Amanda Knox has been acquitted and will be released immediately. She will be allowed to leave the country and return home to her family in the U.S. Knox’s former boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, has also been declared not guilty in the murder of Meredith KercherÂ and will also be released.

Amanda Knox broke down in tears after the appeal verdict was read acquitting her of the murder of Meredith Kercher in 2007. Knox and Sollecito were convincted in 2008 of sexually assaulting Kercher and stabbing her to death. Knox was sentenced to 26 years in prison while Sollecito was sentenced to 25 years in jail. Both have continued to maintain their innocence throughout the four years they have spent in jail.

Outside of the courthouse in Perugia, Italy, some of those gathered to hear the Amanda Knox verdict shouted out “Shame, shame!” at the news of her acquittal.

Iâ€™ve lost a friend in the worst, most brutal, most inexplicable way possible,â€ Amanda Knox told the jury in her appeal trial about the 2007 murder of Meredith Kercher, a 21-year-old student she lived with in Perugia. â€œIâ€™m paying with my life for things that I didnâ€™t do.â€

Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito were convicted in 2009 of sexually assaulting Meredith Kercher and stabbing her to death. Both Knox and Sollecito have maintained they are innocent of the crimes for which they were convicted. “I never hurt anyone, never in my life,â€ Sollecito said during the appeal trial.

Meredith Kercher’s family, who wanted the original guilty verdict upheld for Knox and Sollecito, comforted each other when the acquital was announced. Stephanie Kercher, the victim’s sister, said in a press statement before the verdict that the family still believes in Knox’s guilt.